Welcome to the Spring ORC 2022! As we enter our third participatory season, we’re reminded of season one and season two, inspiring us to make incremental progress in transforming our home (if you haven’t yet visited, check out our Instagram stories). The challenge introduces us to a supportive community of talented designers over the course of 8 weeks to share both of our wins and teachable moments. This year marks the 10th anniversary with an amazing partner in Apartment Therapy.
If you came here from the ORC site, hello! I’m Sanju Patel. By day, I work behind a desk, typically crunching numbers. By night, you can find me in a garage. My wife and I purchased a home in Texas 4 years ago – a quick close without costly bells and whistles. As lifelong fans of DIY, we’ve decided to invest into our home as our family grows with an open invitation to see our process from start to finish.
The Before
We’re pumped up for this year’s ORC because we’re finally transforming a space that has total creative free range! To be honest, we started toying with the idea of cleaning up this space back in January as we tried to store away our x-mas tree (and yes it hung out here for weeks before it was finally stored away). A few practical shelves and brackets were hung, but the space lacked a certain special touch.
What typically starts out as a very clean space, the GARAGE winds up accumulating an assortment of tools and objects. Some of it is transitory while some other things become a permanent fixture. It is where some of our most profound work happens. Yet is so inefficient and lacking of the character that defines us (in other words – how can we make a work space more fun!)
Granted, not every space needs to be made over. And for the most part, we’ve prioritized function. Its hard to define our style – a work in progress of sorts. In searching for inspiration, we searched deep into the past.
The Design
For each space that we work on, we love making memories – the same way we did growing up with our families. And that’s why we’re bringing it back to our favorite childhood memories, back where it all started. It’s a space that we hope to share with our son where his imagination can also run wild.
This space will go where no man has gone before (hint, hint.) It will become a ‘space’ of our own with a touch of modern, yet retro geeky, sci-fi vibes. We really love the elements incorporated over at Disney’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, especially with all of the amazing things possible with LED lights. Dark undertones, white walls, contrasted by a few bright colors. Now the trick here is to find that special balance (nervously crossing fingers that we can pull this off without a “Houston, we have a problem” moment.)
The Plan
Here’s what’s on deck for the next few weeks:
- Week 1: clean up and tote storage solution
- Week 2: a/c install
- Week 3: life install
- Week 4: surprise unit install
- Week 5: corner space epoxy
- Week 6: custom cabinets
- Week 7: wall paneling
- Week 8: lighting
As always, send us any questions and don’t forget to follow our Instagram stories. By the way, check out the official One Room Challenge site with Apartment Therapy as a media partner.